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Just to see whether this was possible and what the result would be I removed the subdivision modifier in Blender from the low poly base mesh, which in theory would serve as the control mesh for the T-Spline body in Fusion 360. Import of the OBJ mesh worked very well. No modifactions to the imported mesh other than quickly applying some textures. Now I have a fully editable T-Spline body and THAT is super sweet!
That is how I work the most - my concept modeling is done in Blender because well for poly modeling with all the interactive modifiers hardly much can beat it at that and then I bring the low poly cage into Fusion.
Tada! Sometimes when I need edge creasing from Blender to get over I also apply a level 1 or 2 SubDiv modifier if really needed.
I fully agree on that Fusion really needs an OBJ export for the TS model. Many modeling commands I use in other applications like Blender/Modo are not available in Fusion and will never be.
Thats also fine because Fusion TS is different then a dump poly modelers subdiv system. But like in Blender there are so many design tools at your finger tips which would make me more productive when I could exchange obj data two ways!
Tada! Sometimes when I need edge creasing from Blender to get over I also apply a level 1 or 2 SubDiv modifier if really needed.
I fully agree on that Fusion really needs an OBJ export for the TS model. Many modeling commands I use in other applications like Blender/Modo are not available in Fusion and will never be.
Thats also fine because Fusion TS is different then a dump poly modelers subdiv system. But like in Blender there are so many design tools at your finger tips which would make me more productive when I could exchange obj data two ways!
Claas Kuhnen
Faculty Industrial Design – Wayne State Universit
Chair Interior Design – Wayne State University
Owner studioKuhnen – product : interface : design
That is great news. Specifically also for pushing out clean render models this will be very helpful. Not everybody wants to use STL for this or owns Keyshot or even wants to own it.
And considering modeling being able to move the data two ways will help designers like us to combine the power of plain poly modelers with the TS to BREP power in Fusion which is a pretty powerful combo.
Obviously for certain reasons TS behaves slower than dump polygons but in return it is just darn precise which polys are not at all.
Very often with Rhino and TS we had a basic NURBS frame pushed that out and then sculpted around that exported data and brought later the new surface via OBJ back into Rhino and via TS turned it into NURBS. Fantastic!
I think the more Fusion is open the more it can become a perfect design companion!
And considering modeling being able to move the data two ways will help designers like us to combine the power of plain poly modelers with the TS to BREP power in Fusion which is a pretty powerful combo.
Obviously for certain reasons TS behaves slower than dump polygons but in return it is just darn precise which polys are not at all.
Very often with Rhino and TS we had a basic NURBS frame pushed that out and then sculpted around that exported data and brought later the new surface via OBJ back into Rhino and via TS turned it into NURBS. Fantastic!
I think the more Fusion is open the more it can become a perfect design companion!
Claas Kuhnen
Faculty Industrial Design – Wayne State Universit
Chair Interior Design – Wayne State University
Owner studioKuhnen – product : interface : design
@PhilProcarioJr This is for exporting native TS model as quad OBJ so I can fix things in Blender so I that I can load it back into TS in Fusion.
@PhilProcarioJr @Anonymous Exporting surfaces as quad mesh is a tricky thing. Rhino allows you to export make a mesh from the CV low polycage of a nurbs surface.
But this all has to ignore trimmed edges if you want to be able to make use of this.
Why would you want to export solid as quad mesh? for rendering or modeling?
For rendering it would be more ngons (tri quad and ngons) and yes there Fusion is useless for as it only tesselates and offers no UV mapping.
That's why I use MOI for that
Claas Kuhnen
Faculty Industrial Design – Wayne State Universit
Chair Interior Design – Wayne State University
Owner studioKuhnen – product : interface : design
My stupidity here I should have looked at the dates...
You can export native T-Splines as quad .obj files now, I do this everyday. To be honest if you couldn't do this I wouldn't be using Fusion right now. The work I do makes this a must have and it's the game changer for me and one of the biggest reasons I like Fusion.
The reason I want to export solid models as quad obj is for:
1) Rendering in IRAY
2) Advanced modeling techniques I am developing
3) Advanced animations using camera matching for live media integration
4) Product shots on live backplates
5) Integration with realtime fluid dynamics
Actually with the proper algorithms you could easily export quad meshes that perfectly match the parts.
For me UV mapping is a moot point because we can't create custom shaders for the render. Besides Zbrush has one of the best UV mapping tools on the planet. You can UV map any object in mins.
Phil Procario Jr.
Owner, Laser & CNC Creations
@PhilProcarioJr I am not against good export meshes at all but do you know any app that can export CAD data in clean quad mesh? I don't!
Joke: You use IRay ? Why don't you use the build in render engine?
Claas Kuhnen
Faculty Industrial Design – Wayne State Universit
Chair Interior Design – Wayne State University
Owner studioKuhnen – product : interface : design
"I am not against good export meshes at all but do you know any app that can export CAD data in clean quad mesh?"
No but there is no reason any CAD app can't, there just hasn't been any effort put into it because CAD people don't even know why they need it.
I have done a ton of research on what it would take to do this and I believe it is completely possible.
If I wasn't so busy with everything else I would probably work on an app or plugin that would do this.
It's another case of lack of innovation and the "OLD" CAD guys fighting change.
I'm blown away by how closed minded people are and how much they will fight something that's different.
"Joke: You use IRay ? Why don't you use the build in render engine?"
HAHA don't open that can of worms again, you might upset someone 
....lol
Phil Procario Jr.
Owner, Laser & CNC Creations
@PhilProcarioJr Yeah I observed that as well. I am impressed that the industry does even accept something like sub-d like sculpting for design now.
Years ago that was crazy to even think about!
Claas Kuhnen
Faculty Industrial Design – Wayne State Universit
Chair Interior Design – Wayne State University
Owner studioKuhnen – product : interface : design
This app comes the closest I have ever seen any app come.
https://cyborg3d.com/CAD2PolyProductPage.html
Phil Procario Jr.
Owner, Laser & CNC Creations
@PhilProcarioJr wrote:
"I am not against good export meshes at all but do you know any app that can export CAD data in clean quad mesh?"
No but there is no reason any CAD app can't, there just hasn't been any effort put into it because CAD people don't even know why they need it.
Ok, I'm a CAD people so I'll bite. Why do I need to export CAD data in clean quad mesh thingies?
@PhilProcarioJr wrote:
It's another case of lack of innovation and the "OLD" CAD guys fighting change.
I'm blown away by how closed minded people are and how much they will fight something that's different.
If you think the CAD guys are bad, you should check out the machinists! Every time I fire up the milling machine I can feel myself morphing into a grizzled old codger that thinks real machinists don't need CNC. 
Well not really, but I do sometimes feel the urge to tell those kids to get off my lawn.
C|
"Ok, I'm a CAD people so I'll bite. Why do I need to export CAD data in clean quad mesh thingies?"
The answer to this depends on the work you do. For instance if you eng/design pipe fittings then you don't need it. If you eng/design organic or free flowing forms that need to be accurate it will cut your work time to less then half making you more productive thus making more money. Plus there are some organic forms that just can not be modeled with traditional CAD tools.
"If you think the CAD guys are bad, you should check out the machinists! Every time I fire up the milling machine I can feel myself morphing into a grizzled old codger that thinks real machinists don't need CNC. 
Well not really, but I do sometimes feel the urge to tell those kids to get off my lawn."
I know they are I work with a bunch of them and to be honest when I started machining there was no CNC...I remember the tape punch machines.....
Phil Procario Jr.
Owner, Laser & CNC Creations
PhilProcarioJr wrote:
The answer to this depends on the work you do. For instance if you eng/design pipe fittings then you don't need it. If you eng/design organic or free flowing forms that need to be accurate it will cut your work time to less then half making you more productive thus making more money. Plus there are some organic forms that just can not be modeled with traditional CAD tools.
I design mostly machines and such, but I would like to get into organic/free form modeling more. My biggest hurdle I think is not so much the tools but an almost total lack of artistic talent. My sister got all the art genes and I got the engineering genes. 
You actually answered my question in post 12 but I sort of missed it. Particularly #2 and #5 sound interesting.
Technically I'm old enough to remember tape machines but I'm still a relative newcomer to 3D modelling and machining (7 years professional experience and an additional 7 as a hobbyist).
C|
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